1) Field of the Disclosure
The disclosure relates to a method of manufacturing co-molded inserts. In particular, the disclosure relates to a method of manufacturing co-molded inserts for use in composite, plastic, and metal parts using additive manufacturing.
2) Description of Related Art
Composite, plastic, and metal parts can be used in the manufacture of spacecraft, aircraft, military craft, automobiles, watercraft, and other vehicles and craft. Creating geometrically complex, high performance, three-dimensional composite, plastic, or metal parts typically requires multiple sets of tooling and molding operations. Such composite, plastic, or metal parts also typically require assembly with molded inserts made of other materials for joining or system integration, such as wiring or hydraulic brackets. Known methods and systems for making such molded or assembled inserts may require molding, forming, casting, tooling, and/or curing operations, as well as machining tools and fixtures to create such inserts, and this can be costly and require significant production lead time. Moreover, molded inserts for use in fiber reinforced plastic parts are normally made individually, thus requiring a large number of parts and associated logistics. Known methods and systems may require individually molded or machined inserts to be assembled piecemeal, which can introduce precision errors and can result in increased labor costs. In addition, known methods for manually assembling molded or co-molded inserts can lack precision, as the precise assembly of such inserts typically requires fixtures, jigs, or laser projection type guides to position, place, and bond such inserts to the plastic part precisely. Often the creation of a three-dimensional composite assembly with molded or co-molded inserts, such as nutplates, can require multiple molding or bonding cure cycles. The use of such fixtures for precise assembly can be costly and time consuming. In addition, known methods and systems can impose geometric limitations on the design of such molded or co-molded inserts.
Accordingly, there is a need for a method of manufacturing co-molded inserts that provides advantages over known methods and systems.